MooBeeTees

13 July 2010

Things that make me go mmmmm :)

I was searching my way through Etsy and found myself mmmming over a number of items that I either wanted or made we wonder if they had lost their way to the Regretsy pages. How did they end up in the same search results? What is the link that makes them appear together like star crossed lovers? What do you think - perfectly matched, or things that make you go mmmmm?

Search: Baby Doll

Search: Happy

Search: Classy

06 July 2010

The Photographer in all of Us

I was attempting to take some listing photos today and I was reminded of how bad I am at actually doing this. If only I could take photos that I think accurately record my items for you all to see - I would be happy. It doesn't matter how many times I read hints and tips on how to take the perfect photo, or the fact that my Grandfather was a fabulous amateur photographer, gentically and technically the skill seems to have passed me by.

In the middle of all of this, I decided to take a picture of myself as I'm notoriously shy of showing myself on the web. So here is my best 'self portrait' (with thanks from PowerPoint and Picassa):

I only wish you could have seen me standing in my lounge room making faces at the camera trying to acheive 'natural' and 'youthful' knowing that I couldn't call on airbrushing to save me!

Given my own inability with the camera, I am forever thrilled to see the work of others who seem to have a natural gift for recording moments in time. So here are a couple of my favourite photos that are currently for sale on Etsy.

I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do :)

SusannahTucker

I love how warm this photo makes me feel.

shannonhawkyard

My favourite book as a child was The Secret Garden. To me, this IS the door to the garden.

shanegorski

I just love a bit of menacing architecture!

malinda612

Just becasue I like red balloons and blue skies :)

What images do you like?

26 June 2010

Attempting the Jump - Crochet

In my wonderful world of craft I am surrounded by some amazing fibre artists, both online and in the flesh. I've always had a yen to learn how to turn yarn into something more than a jumbled mess, so I've decided to teach myself to crochet. Given that MooBeeGran is a former professional crocheter (is there such a word?) I'm hoping that genetics will come into play here.

I have been inspired by the multi-talented Jess from Epheriell Designs. She is currently in the midst of The Great Australian Granny Square (TGAGS) journey, from which I am drawing inspiration :) To add to this, whilst tweeting this afternoon I came across a tweet from crochetgal linking to some fantastic 'Learn to Crochet' videos by Lion Brand Yarn (and yes, I'm keeping in mind that American and Australian terms do differ). The videos are lovely and clear and so much easier to understand than some of the leaflets I've been trying to follow.

Now I know I could just ask MooBeeGran for some lessons, but that would just defeat my 'must try before reading instructions' outlook on life (and we've already tried the life and death stuff when she taught me to drive).

Here is my first practice piece:

I obviously have a long way to go before I get to this level - but I'm going to enjoy learning:

With thanks to the following fabulous fibre artists:

1st Row (left to right)

FiBreRomance

rensfibreart

HeddaVatter

2nd Row (left to right)

endoftheworldstudio

artmama

KarArt2010

Are you trying anything new?

21 June 2010

Fabulous Start for a New Boutique Childrens Market

As many of you would know, I had a stall at the new boutique children's market - Sugar and Spice - at Woodend, Victoria on Sunday. After much organising by the wonderful Ali Bant, the market was a great success and lots of terrific feedback was heard being given about the quality of the items for sale, the talent of the stall holders and the overall publicity and organisation of the event.

From a stall holders perspective it was well worth me making the effort to drive to Woodend, which is a good two hours from home. I'm fortunate in having friends in the area who were generous enough to let me stay with them Saturday night, but I know stall holders came from all over the place to take part. The hall was warm and dry and there was room a'plently for us all to fit in. The 10am - 2pm timeframe also gave people who had to travel enough time to get there and get home at a respectable time.

The opportunity to hire a table was made available if needed (with chairs!) and the stall fee was very competitive with other markets of the type. There was heaps of parking and lots of room to bump in and out.

As with all good markets there was coffee and cupcakes to keep you going, and a space for the 'menfolk' to gather if they needed to remove themselves from the shopping frenzy for a few moments.

Apart from creating a new shopping event, Ali has also made sure that there is a philanthropic element to the Sugar and Spice Market. The market has been designed to support various worthwhile causes and the first cause is to assist with funding the very important education program for Felicity, the step daughter of another fabulous crafter Amy of GiggleBerry Creations. Felicity's touching and heart warming story can be found on Sugar and Spice's blog. The profits that are made through running the June and September markets will be donated to Felicity's cause.

So what is my overall opinion of this market? Fabulous :) You would never have known it was the first one. I recommend it to other Children's Crafters and look forward to taking part in it again next time.

Well done Ali and all who took part (did I mention there were Cupcakes?).

19 June 2010

A Little Bit of Sleep

I was listening to how tired everybody was by the end of the week at work today and started to daydream about sleeping and all the things that go with that. Here is a little pictorial detailing where my thoughts took me...